The Hot Springs star. (Hot Spings [Hot Springs], Dakota [Dakota Territory, i.e. S.D.]) 1886-189?, 1887-05-20


ISl ~
49, hStAexledl6ly, aad Is nlShvs
asealy work kad besa thsirs. I6ey
SyeesnatxGdSdlUoee.
st1he deathsof the gallant OyKans
grea11y depressed d al. AZ soon q /
cculd bring myself to do LEI made an
examination oi his e6scts. I found !
large paper package. On the ,outside
OF II vas . note addressed to M. Il
VA IN OsKaneii peculiar square and
characteristic .chirography. and Was q
document appointing me bis sole exec
utpr. found = Catholic prayer book
that had belonged to him. On the Nv
leaf was written From Sister To-
The name that followed had been cut
out. There vas nothing to indicate
who theyoung lrishman was or whether
he had any friends. Iconcluded not to
open the envelopes In the package until
I could obtain legal advice. I for
warded it to the then proprietor of the
Metropolitan hotel In New York, who
was an old and confidential friend Of
mine. I obtained leave of absence a
few weeks later, went to New York,
and consulted a lawyer we'll known to
me then and we'll known to the nation
to-day. Together we opened the dead
lfeutenant's package, and imagine my
surprise to find evidence that he was
the owner of property in st. Louis and
Chicago worth at that time not
less than 10000. Then the folly of
my not favoring O'Kane when he un.
mistakably wanted to tell me his his
tory on the night he was killed became
apparent to me. Here was a fortune
that BY right belonged to some one to
whom he intended It should 90, and no
clue to his or her identity. Mylawyer
assured ME that I could claim and pos
sess the property as executor, but / re-
FUSED to do so. Iplaeed the paper in
the hands of tho British consul in Now
York, with instructions to him to use
every dollar of the income of the prop
erty in efforts to find out who the
young Irishman was. I did not think
of applying to the Catholic authorities,
who might have had some knowledge
OF the dead mans history. The papers
were deposited in the vaults of tho
Metropolitan Safe Deposit company,
and 1 returned to my regiment.
"In the exciting times that followed
I had but little opportunity to follow
up the OKane mystery, and after the
war 1 was sent out to Fort Pembina, in
Dakota. beng then a captain in the
Fifteenth infantry. One day we had
been put through several hours of tedi-
Gus and laborious drilling by our major,
who had q passion for severe ex.
ercise when it had to be done by
others. When he let up on us I was
as tired q man as ever swung a sword
OF handled a musket. I went to my
quarters and lay down on a sofa in a
private apartment to rest little before
dinner. ] fell asleep. I don't know
how long I slept. but when I awoke /
became aware of a presence in the
room, and, locking up, there, within
four feet of me. and gazing down Mt
me, stood Larry O'Kane, just us 1 had
seen him the night he was killed. 1
wasn't frightened; I did not start, but
quietly returned the apparition's gazc
for a moment, and then exclaimed:
".Larry, speak to mel
HE raised his hand, shook his head
sadly, and in an instant disappeared.
1 sprang from. the sofa. I was now
thoroughly frightened. 1 thought 1
was on the verge of insanity. The
more I pondered on the extraordinary
circumstance, tho more con-
fused and alarmed I became. Finally
| staggered over to my writing
desk, which stood against the
wall on the opposite side of the room.
My eye fell on an envelope that lay
there. could not have withdrawn my
gaze if my life depended on it. The
envelope vas an ordinary one Of the
kind 1 used every day. On it was
written, IN the well-remembcred, UNI
mistakable, square handwriting of
Larry O'Kane, an address which 1 will
say was this: